EDC MOOC Popular cultures

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These are two video advertisements – one from Corning, and one from Microsoft – setting out these companies’ visions of how their products will evolve and be used in the future. In both cases, the companies’ portray their information technologies as completely integrated with daily life.

A Day Made of Glass 2: Same Day. Expanded Corning Vision.

Productivity Future Vision (2011)

Questions

Questions you might try to answer in the discussion boards, on Twitter, or in the form of an image are:

how is education being visualised here? what is being learned and taught?

23 December, 2012 – Pupils of St Paul’s School in Macau use tablet computers in what will be the region’s largest paperless school. Photo: Edward Wong

In ‘A day of glass’ education is visualised as a two way process with teachers and students sharing a classroom. As is now available in many schools the children have all the information they need on a portable digital device. They also use in them class where the teacher can automatically upload the information for the day. All education in this example is fully computerised there is no paper and all information required is immediately available and accessible.

The teacher is teaching the science of light and colour. At the same time the children are learning how to work together, building social skills and tactile skills with pressure control

In “Productivity Future Vision” there appears to be no teacher for the young girl. The child is following a set of instructions on her home digital device. There is however a ‘bake sale’ so I don’t think she is totally home educated. There must be a place for this sale, unless it is selling to the neighbours. Parents are participating in the education either by being there or remotely. She is learning mathematics, weights and measures and also cooking skills. If the bake sale is to support a school or similar then she is also learning community spirit.

The older pupils are also learning using remote technology. They seem to have remote teachers who communicate with video links. I think they are learning Ecology. They also appear to have group learning and so are encouraging each other.

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Although the technology is more advanced in both these videos it looks the same type of education that we have now in some schools. Certainly in communities where home-schooling is the best option, normally due to distance, this type of learning has seen a lot of progress.

A Roman piece from a place near Trier. It dated from 200 A.C. and shows a school where the teacher is sitting in the middle and two students are sitting around him, reading a parchment role. At the right a student is arriving with his tablet on which he could write. This technique (writing slate) was used within European schools till around 1950.

March 5, 2012 by ManagedPrint Peter Burr – At Sydney-based Neutral Bay Public School, all year six pupils have been issued with an iPad

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what is the nature of communication in these future worlds?

Communication is still involves two people, otherwise it would not be communication. This does raise the question of whether information transmitted from an intelligent device can be considered as communication. If it can respond to questions then maybe yes. That is another philosophical question – I will add it to the list. The scenes in the classroom are different in that it is not as much one way communication as you see in some of today’s schools.

Communication is by several means. Video with spoken communication, video with images, text communication and holograms. Communication is between people, between people through digital devices and between people and digital devices. (caveat). The devices also communicate with each other.

Although holograms are not yet available the technology is being developed and getting closer.

This video was Published on 1 May 2012. It shows the work of

The Human Media Lab at Queen’s University in Canada .

Touch screen technology is a part of our everyday lives

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are these utopian or a dystopian visions to you? In what way(s)?

To me both of these films show utopian visions. There are no downsides shown. We see smiley happy people being creative, helping humanity, helping the planet and everyone has all the information that they want at their finger tips.

Maybe there is a dark side that I haven’t seen or maybe I am misunderstanding the nature of utopia and dystopia.